In May 2008, an 8.0-magnitude earthquake struck China. At its epicenter in Wenchuan, Sichuan province, thousands of children lost their lives.
Many died at schools that collapsed into rubble; they were built to subpar standards so that developers and local officials could skim money off the top, effectively profiting off the students' lack of safety. When I visited Wenchuan soon after the quake, hundreds of children's backpacks were strewn across the ground.
When I saw those backpacks, I wanted to know to whom they belonged. But Chinese authorities used the natural disaster to avoid addressing campus construction issues, evading proper explanation about the students' deaths.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.